My Appliance is Smarter Than Your Appliance: Reviewing the I-Opener

Surveying the Internet Appliance Market

February 16, 2000

By
Kevin Reichard

The long-term success of Linux is seemingly dependent on the ability of
vendors to position Linux as a major player in the Internet-appliance (or
network-appliance) world. Couple a rock-solid operating system with a Web
browser and some Java capabilities, the reasoning goes, and consumers who don't
know a lick about operating systems and computers will be able to connect to
the Internet and participate fully in the Internet revolution.

I used to scoff at this, but now I'm not so sure. Being a good penguinista, I should buy it, as so much
venture capital and effort in the Linux community is being funneled into the
development of Linux-based Internet appliances. But after playing around with
an i-opener from Netpliance, reflecting on past experiences with network
appliances, and spending some time making recommendations to friends about what sort of devices to buy, I've had a change of heart about what sort of devices will carry the day. Trouble is, because of the nature of embedded systems no one will know about your success.

Any discussion of embedded systems and Linux must begin with a fact: the standard PC
will not be replaced anytime soon. International Data Corp. estimates that the
Internet appliance market will reach 55.7 million units in 2002, after
recording 13.9 million units in 1999. This is an amazingly high number, but it
makes sense when you consider that number includes everything that can access a
computer, minus PCs. This would include WebTV, devices like the i-opener, the
Palm VII, and other PDAs that can access the Internet.

This is an incredibly exciting field, and one where some truly great
technology is being applied. But my question is: will an Internet-connected
Palm Pilot, no matter how fast the connection someday, ever truly replace a PC?
With most of these Internet appliances, you're dealing with some sort of
physical limitation, whether it be the very small screen on a Palm or Visor or
Qualcomm smart phone, or the lack of any computing power found on a WebTV.

Can these devices yet replace a PC? No. I can't load Quicken on one of these
devices. I can't load my son's extensive educational CD-ROM collection on an
Internet appliance. Until we see CD-ROM distributions completely replaced by
Web-based content, there's no way that an Internet appliance can totally
replace a PC.

But can they act as an adjunct? Yes. I would imagine that most
technologically advanced folks like the idea of using a high-speed Palm for
those moments when they're away from their desks. Similarly, I would imagine
that a lot of folks using WebTV for at-home Internet access already use a PC at
work. So there's definitely a place in the food chain for Internet appliances.

Most Popular LinuxPlanet Stories

Advertiser Disclosure:
Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which QuinStreet receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. QuinStreet does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.